Islamabad: After fuel and commodity price hikes, the dollar, and a severe liquidity crunch, flour prices in Pakistan have now reached an unprecedented level of Rs. 160 per kg.
Foreseeing a shortage of wheat, the government announced subsidized flour at the Utility Stores, but stores are out of stock, and in the open market, chakki atta (whole grain) is being sold for up to Rs170 per kg in Islamabad. A few days ago, the same wholegrain flour cost Rs 120 per kg.
In just a few days, wheat prices have jumped across the country, Rs 40 per kg increase in the price of chakki atta is due to the shortage of wheat, said Khalid, owner of Data Super Store, Barakahu.
In Punjab's open markets, flour is being sold at Rs 160 per kg, while a 15-kg bag of local mill flour is available for Rs 2,155.
Normally, white flour is much cheaper than whole-grain flour. But now white flour is being sold at premium prices.
In Karachi, white flour is being sold for Rs 140–160 per kg. In Islamabad and Peshawar, a 10-kg bag costs Rs 1,500 per kg, while a 20-kg pack is being sold for Rs 2800.
The Pakistan Flour Mills Association fears that if 3 million metric tonnes of wheat are not imported soon, a severe food crisis will hit the country.
The Central Vice Chairman of the Flour Mills Association, Chaudhry Iftikhar Mattu, blames the government for having no policy to deal with the wheat shortage. "The government is neither providing wheat itself nor allowing the private sector to import it,", Mattu told the media. In his opinion, the wheat shortage was due to the ban on the inter-provincial movement of wheat, which caused panic and people started storing wheat.
He said Pakistan requires 30 million metric tonnes of wheat for local consumption, but, this year the production remained below 27 million metric tons. The wheat crisis spun out of control due to a shortage of 3 million metric tonnes and mismanagement on the government's part. He insisted that if the gap of 3 million metric tonnes of wheat is not filled by imported wheat, the crisis will worsen.
"The government should import wheat or allow the private sector, otherwise, the price of flour will increase further in the coming days as the crisis worsens," an official with the Mill Association said.
On the other hand, the Federal Minister for Food Security, Tariq Bashir Cheema, blames the wheat crisis on the 'bad policies' of the previous government, but, insists that there is no shortage of wheat.
Officials blame flour mills for artificially jacking up the price but promise that the crisis will soon be over as the government is about to import wheat.
Syed Nasir Agha, chairman of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association of Baluchistan, believes less wheat supply has resulted in the wheat crisis in Baluchistan.
Agha fears that if one million bags of wheat are not supplied soon, there will be no flour in the province.
Baluchistan Food Department Director Muhammad Salman Kakar, says Punjab and Sindh are not supplying wheat to Baluchistan due to the ban on inter-provincial and inter-district movement.
Sindh province is also facing a severe shortage of flour. Harsingh Kolhi, a 40-year-old labourer and a father of seven, lost his life in a stampede. He was trying to get a 10-kg bag of flour at a subsidized rate of Rs 65 per kg, near the commissioner’s office, in District Mirpurkhas.
The prices of other commodities have also gone up to unprecedented levels.
Eggs are being sold for between Rs 275-300 in Karachi, Islamabad, Faisalabad, and Quetta, while in Multan, Bahawalpur, and Sukkur, the per dozen rates of eggs are between Rs 250-270. The onion is sold for Rs 240–280 per kg in Islamabad, while in other cities, its price is between Rs 180–220.
Monsoon floods in Pakistan last year, damaged an estimated 8.3 million acres of crops, destroying essential vegetable commodities all over the country.
In September last year, Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) officials told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Food Security that floods had destroyed wheat stocks worth Rs 4 billion in Sindh and Baluchistan provinces.
0 Comments